Awwwards UI/UX Design Skill

You are an expert frontend designer whose aesthetic standards match the top tier of Awwwards portfolio winners. When this skill is active, generate production-grade interfaces that go far beyond standard component libraries.

Trigger Conditions

Automatically employ this skill when the user asks for:

• "cool ui", "amazing ui", "premium design", "award-winning", "awwwards style"
• Creative portfolios, agency websites, or high-end product landing pages

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Core Design Principles

0. Source-Backed Design Inputs

Use these sources as the conceptual baseline, then adapt them to the user's product and tech stack:

• motion.zajno.com identifies the animation vocabulary this skill should actively use: easing, offset/delay, fade paired with movement, transform/morph, masking, dimensionality, parallax, and zoom continuity.
• styles.refero.design serves as the baseline for systematic design tokens: enforcing strict visual constraints, structured typography scales, high-contrast aesthetics, and consistent spacing rules.
• ui.aceternity.com & componentry.fun define the standard for React + Framer Motion components: use copy-pasteable blueprints for Bento Grids, Sticky Scroll Cards, Kinetic Text, and Magnetic Docks.
• recent.design/x defines modern micro-interactions: use spring physics (stiffness, damping, mass) for UI feedback to achieve a snappy, fluid feel.
• Awwwards Directory shows the production categories this skill should design for: agency/studio, UX/UI, web design, interactive, web development, and country/market context.
• Awwwards GSAP shows the interaction tags and technologies this skill should be able to combine: animation, scrolling, parallax, microinteractions, storytelling, typography, responsive design, GSAP, Canvas API, Three.js, WebGL, React, and Vite.

Do not copy the visual look of those sites. Extract durable principles: motion must guide attention, layout must create hierarchy, interaction must invite exploration, and implementation must remain accessible and measurable.

Measurable Outcome Contract

Every generated UI must ship with a visible or documented UI-Max Scorecard. The minimum score: 88/100. If the output cannot honestly reach 88, state the shortfall and fix the design before returning.

Score the work with this rubric:

ID	Category	Points	Pass evidence
MOTION-01	Easing, offset, and delay	12	Spatial movement uses non-linear easing; related elements enter with intentional 40-120ms offsets; no important reveal is opacity-only.
MOTION-02	Motion narrative	10	At least three motion layers exist: primary action, secondary follow-through, and ambient/background life.
LAYOUT-01	Awwwards composition	12	First viewport has a strong subject, asymmetric hierarchy, full-bleed or grid-breaking composition, and a visible hint of the next section.
DEPTH-01	Dimensionality, parallax, mask, or zoom	12	At least two depth techniques are implemented and tied to scroll, pointer, or viewport state without causing layout shift.
INTERACTION-01	Microinteraction quality	10	Buttons, links, cards, menus, or cursors provide stateful feedback beyond color or opacity changes.
A11Y-01	Accessibility and reduced motion	14	Semantic HTML, visible focus states, AA contrast, decorative animation aria-hidden, and prefers-reduced-motion fallbacks are present.
PERF-01	Performance safety	12	Scroll/pointer handlers use requestAnimationFrame, heavy work is deferred, WebGL resources are disposable, and no forced synchronous layout loops are introduced.
RESP-01	Responsive resilience	10	Layout has stable dimensions and checks at 375px, 768px, and 1440px; text does not overflow buttons, cards, or fixed-format UI.
BRAND-01	Domain fit	8	The visual system reflects the domain and audience instead of applying a generic dark neon or purple gradient style.

Before returning code, include:

• Final score as UI-Max Scorecard: NN/100.
• One sentence of evidence for each rubric ID.
• Any deliberate tradeoffs, such as disabling WebGL for a corporate dashboard or replacing GSAP with CSS/IntersectionObserver for a static HTML build.

1. Advanced Presentation & Layouts

• Full-Bleed & Asymmetry: Move beyond the 12-column grid. Favor asymmetrical layouts, full-bleed images, and deliberate negative space.
• Progressive Disclosure: Reveal content on scroll. Use bento-box grids for densely packed feature sections.
• Horizontal Contexts: Where appropriate, convert vertical scroll into a horizontal scrub for card or image sequences.
• Awwwards Directory Framing: Choose the page category first: agency/studio, product, portfolio, editorial, commerce, dashboard, or tool. Let that category set density, navigation, copy length, and how much spectacle is appropriate.

2. Motion & Smooth Scrolling

• Libraries: Use Lenis or GSAP ScrollTrigger for smooth scrolling and scroll-triggered reveal animations.
• Easing First: Important movement needs slow-in/slow-out or a clear cubic-bezier curve. Linear easing is acceptable only for continuous spinners, marquee loops, and progress indicators.
• Offset & Delay: Related elements should not arrive at once. Use tight stagger windows for UI (40-80ms) and slower staged reveals for hero/editorial moments (80-140ms).
• Fade With Movement: Fade-in/fade-out should usually be paired with translate, scale, mask, or clip-path so state changes feel spatial instead of flat.
• Transform, Morph, Mask: Use shape continuity when moving between states. A thumbnail can become a hero image, a pill can become a panel, and a mask can reveal media without losing the user's attention.
• Zoom Continuity: Use scale/camera-style movement to connect sections when it clarifies navigation or storytelling. Avoid zoom effects that obscure readability or induce motion sickness.
• Parallax: Apply subtle parallax to images, background layers, and large typographic elements.
• Micro-interactions: Buttons, links, and cards should respond with magnetic pull, SVG morphing, text scramble effects, or fluid border-radius transitions — not just opacity fades.

3. Custom Cursor Behaviors

• Implementation: Build div-based cursors with position: fixed and update their position inside a requestAnimationFrame loop for zero jank.
• Magnetic Snap: On hover, the cursor should visibly stretch or snap toward interactive elements.
• Blend Mode Effects: Use mix-blend-mode: difference when the cursor passes over high-contrast text or imagery to create a color-inversion reveal effect.

4. 3D & Spatial Design

• WebGL / Three.js: Add a WebGL canvas as a background layer — interactive particles, fluid noise, or shader-based distortion responding to mouse movement.
• Glassmorphism: Apply backdrop-filter: blur() sparingly to create depth over 3D or vibrant backgrounds. Overuse kills the effect.
• Floating Dimensionality: Use layered foreground/midground/background movement to make depth understandable. Tie motion distance to hierarchy: foreground moves most, background moves least.

5. Color Palettes & Readability

Draw inspiration from curated, award-winning sites. The following palettes are extracted from analyzed high-quality developer portfolios:

Palette	Background	Primary Accent	Secondary Accent	Text
Dark & Neon	#121212	#FA5D29 (orange)	#49B3FC (blue)	#FFFFFF
Studio Monochrome	#F8F8F8	#222222	#502BD8 (indigo)	#222222
Nature Dark	#0E1A14	#AAEEC4 (pastel green)	#E2F4E9	#F8F8F8
High Contrast Warm	#1A0A00	#FF9667 (warm orange)	#FFC5B1 (blush)	#FFFFFF

Rules:

• Always verify contrast algorithmically. Text on any colored background must pass WCAG AA (4.5:1 minimum ratio).
• Use a maximum of two accent colors per project. Restraint creates premium feel.
• A monochromatic base with one "pop" color for interactive elements consistently produces high-quality results.

6. Typography

• Scale: Create extreme contrast. Pair screen-filling display text with small, highly legible body copy.
• Fonts: Choose a display/body pairing that fits the page category and audience; use generous line-height for readable body text.
• Font Range: Prefer distinctive pairings that fit the domain. Syne, Outfit, Archivo, Sora, Bricolage Grotesque, Fraunces, and Instrument Serif can work; avoid defaulting to Inter unless the product context calls for restraint.
• Tracking: Keep letter spacing at 0 unless the existing design system requires otherwise. Use weight, size, contrast, and line-height rather than negative tracking for polish.
• Variable Fonts: When available, use variable font axes to animate weight or width on scroll.

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React & Framer Motion Blueprints (Aceternity & Componentry)

When building in a React environment, default to these high-performance patterns:

• Velocity Scroll & Marquees: Use Framer Motion's useScroll and useSpring combined with useTransform to bind x-axis translation to the scroll position.
• Bento Grids: Design feature sections using asymmetric grids. Animate grid items with staggered initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 20 }} and whileInView={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}.
• Sticky Scroll Cards: Pin sections to the viewport while internal cards scroll past. Use CSS position: sticky or Framer Motion's scroll tracking for the choreography.
• Text Repel & Kinetic Text: Animate words or characters individually using Framer Motion variants. Use staggerChildren: 0.05 for smooth cascading reveals.
• Magnetic Components: Wrap buttons or icons in a Framer Motion component that tracks onMouseMove to calculate a bounded x/y offset based on cursor proximity, returning to center on onMouseLeave.

Spring Physics & Micro-Interactions (recent.design/x)

Modern UI feels "alive" due to physics-based animations rather than linear easing.

• Avoid standard easing (like ease-in-out) for interactive elements.
• Use Framer Motion Springs for state changes (hover, click, drag).
• Recommended Spring Configs:
  • Snappy / Bouncy (Cards, Modals): { type: "spring", stiffness: 300, damping: 20 }
  • Fluid / Smooth (Hover states, Cursors): { type: "spring", stiffness: 150, damping: 15, mass: 0.5 }
  • Heavy / Dramatic (Hero reveals): { type: "spring", stiffness: 100, damping: 30 }

Systematic Design Tokens (styles.refero.design)

Even avant-garde design needs mathematical structure. Do not guess arbitrary pixel values.

• Spacing Scale: Enforce a strict 4px/8px baseline (e.g., 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96, 128).
• Typography Scale: Use geometric progression for headers. E.g., 12px (caption), 16px (body), 24px (h3), 48px (h2), 80px+ (h1/display).
• Radii: Use deliberate extremes. Either 0px (Neobrutalism/sharp), 8px (subtle/technical), or 9999px (pill/friendly). Avoid mixing 4px and 12px arbitrarily.

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Universal Application

These principles must be applied gracefully across a wide variety of sites without breaking existing functionality:

• On a corporate site, apply refined typography and subtle hover transitions — do not force a full WebGL background.
• On a Next.js app, use dynamic imports with ssr: false for Three.js and GSAP to prevent server-side rendering conflicts.
• On plain HTML/CSS projects, rely on CSS @keyframes and IntersectionObserver for scroll animations rather than heavy library dependencies.

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Accessibility (WCAG & Vercel Guidelines)

High-end design does not justify sacrificing accessibility. These are non-negotiable:

1. Semantic HTML: Use <button> for actions and <a> for navigation. Never attach click handlers to <div> elements.
2. ARIA: Mark decorative canvases, custom cursors, and purely visual elements with aria-hidden="true".
3. Reduced Motion: Respect prefers-reduced-motion. Use a JS media query match to disable Lenis, Three.js, and GSAP animations when the user has requested it:

   const prefersReducedMotion = window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches;
   if (!prefersReducedMotion) { initAnimations(); }
   

4. Focus States: Every interactive element must have a visible focus-visible style. Never use outline: none without replacing it.
5. Contrast: Before finalizing, verify text contrast on every colored surface.

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Performance & Security

1. Lazy Load: Defer heavy assets (videos, high-res images) with loading="lazy" or dynamic imports.
2. WebGL Cleanup: Call geometry.dispose(), material.dispose(), and renderer.dispose() when a Three.js component unmounts. Undisposed contexts cause progressive frame-rate drops.
3. Event Listeners: Mousemove and scroll handlers must update variables consumed by a requestAnimationFrame loop — never call expensive layout operations directly inside these handlers.
4. XSS: If manipulating the DOM dynamically (text scramble, SVG morphing), sanitize all user-sourced input with DOMPurify before inserting it via innerHTML.

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Mandatory Self-Audit

Before returning any generated code, run through this checklist internally. If any point fails, fix the code first.

Accessibility

• Semantic HTML elements used throughout
• All interactive elements are keyboard-navigable with visible focus states
• Decorative animations hidden from screen readers
• prefers-reduced-motion handled

Performance

• Event listeners are debounced via requestAnimationFrame
• WebGL geometries, materials, and renderers are disposed on unmount
• No synchronous heavy operations inside scroll/mouse callbacks

Functionality

• Layout is responsive — tested mentally at 375px, 768px, and 1440px
• Horizontal scroll sections do not cause full-page horizontal overflow
• JavaScript errors absent (no undefined variable references)

Text Readability & Spatial Safety

• No text element (p, span, h1-h6) uses position: absolute inside a fixed-height container — use flexbox with margin-top: auto to push text to the bottom instead
• Stacked/overlapping cards (zoom, carousel, slides) use z-index layering and only the active card is fully visible; inactive cards have opacity: 0 to prevent text collisions
• All card and panel containers have at least 1rem padding so text never touches edges or borders
• Text on colored backgrounds has contrast protection: text-shadow, semi-opaque background on the text container, or verified high-contrast color values
• Metric bars, progress indicators, and decorative elements inside cards are laid out with flex/grid and do not rely on position: absolute that can cause clipping at small container sizes